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Greg and Michelle Baker helped revolutionize the farm-to-table restaurant scene in Tampa, Florida. On this HRN Community Session, Eddie Shumard sits down with Greg and Michelle to talk about the traditions of Florida food and educating consumers about seasonality. Hear how The Refinery connected with farmers to source locally. How has the neighborhood of Seminole Heights changed since the opening of The Refinery and other like-minded businesses? Hear why Greg hopes to cook in the tradition of past Floridians, and why he isn’t interested in competing with kitchen greats like Daniel Boulud. Hear about Greg and Michelle’s upcoming Fodder and Shine, and learn how their hunt for Florida heritage foods caused Greg to cut down a palm with a chainsaw! This program has been brought to you by Heritage Foods USA. Music provided by Dead Stars.

photo courtesy of The Refinery

“We created this sense of community in Seminole Heights, and that kind of turned the marketing and media industry on its head. They were thinking, ‘What do you mean you’re going to do this together? Aren’t you all in competition?'” [12:05]

— Michelle Baker of The Refinery

“I want to connect people to the history of Florida through food.” [23:45]